Ghost of Memories Past
by WaywardWatson
Summary: Arthur Penn was eight when he first saw Ms. Hunith's ghost. Oneshot. Reincarnation


**'Ello all! It's been a while, hasn't it?**

 **Let's just say that shat happens, and leave it at that for now...**

 **Boy am I glad to be back!**

 **Enough of my drivel, on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own _Merlin_. Never have, Never will.**

* * *

Arthur Penn was eight when he first saw Ms. Hunith's ghost.

For as long as Arthur could remember, The old woman had lived just down the road from him. To the young boy, Ms. Hunith Caldwell had been old. She was nice enough for an adult, he supposed, and could tell the most amazing stories about dragons and knights of old.

She even helped with the dreams.

The dreams had also been there for as long as Arthur could remember. Sometimes pleasant, sometimes not.

The jumbled, disjointed images never failed to wake him up in the middle of the night, all seemingly revolving (Arthur had learnt that word yesterday and was very pleased with his new 'big word') around a single person. A boy, like him but taller (and that thought **always** came with a flash of irritation), with big ears and his neighbor's eyes (the boy had a name, one that started with a P, but when Arthur had told his Papa, his eyes had gone wide and he had made Arthur promise to _never, ever repeat that word ever again_ ). After the nightmares, (flashes of gold eyes, Knights in armor riding off into battle, a golden crown, and even a dragon! All backed by words, eerie words, chanted in a unfamiliar voice, no. Not an unfamiliar voice, just an unfamiliar language. The voice was familiar, though Arthur could never remember whose voice it was.) Ms. Hunith was always there, not matter what time it was. Arthur's Papa had tried, and failed, to comfort the boy, and eventually trusted the older woman to calm Arthur down on the bad nights.

Ms. Hunith Caldwell may have been Arthur's favorite Adult.

Yet Arthur could see that a sort of sadness hung about her all too often, clouding her periwinkle eyes and dulling her shining silver hair. His Father said it was a lonely sadness, and even Arthur was observant enough to see that this sadness hung around his Papa, too (and had done so ever since his Momma had died two years ago).

*8*8*8*

The sudden chill on a blisteringly hot June afternoon was what made Arthur stop, sweating out from under his blond hair, and look over at the Caldwell house.

The odd, silvery-blue man was what made him stay.

The man was older than Leon, who was in the college, but younger than Arthur's Momma had been.

The stranger dressed oddly, Arthur decided as he watched from behind a nearby tree. Very oddly indeed.

He was dressed in Black pants and a white button down (sleeves rolled up to fight the oppressive heat)- the expensive kind that Arthur's Papa would wear into work. That in itself was rather boringly ordinary, as was his long, dark, hair (pulled into a ponytail, the same as how Gawain from Mrs. Catrina's class had wore his before his Mama had forced him to cut it). However, when coupled with the black leather vest, the set of gold and black marks (tattoo? Percy's Da had ones going all the way up his arm!) winding their way up both the man's arms, and the oddly shaped goggles perched atop his head, not to mention the silvery glow (one that Arthur had already decided was weird. And cool. Weirdly cool), and Ms. Meredith's surprise visitor suddenly became a whole lot more interesting.

And a surprise he most definitely was. Ms. Hunith emerged from her front door and stopped dead in her tracks, her hand going to her heart and eyes snapping wide as baseballs.

"Bal? Balinor? Is that-"

Ms. Hunith's voice was faint and her eyes were bright, a hope she dare not extinguish flickering within their periwinkle depths.

The man, Balinor, simply nodded wordlessly.

With a sudden cry of joy, Ms. Hunith flew down the stars of the Caldwell place.

As Ms. Hunith ran, Arthur noticed that the old woman seemed suddenly... less old.

And indeed she was. By the time Ms. Hunith reached Balinor (A funny name, Arthur thought, but one that fit the Funnily dressed man), she was young again. The old woman whom Arthur had known his entire life had vanished and in her place was a young woman. Her silvery hair had shortened and turned brown and she stood tall with a seemingly effortless grace.

Balinor wrapped the new Ms. Hunith in a giant hug, twirling her around where they stood.

"You left, and I thought you had gone away forever." Ms. Hunith's heartbroken whisper was barely loud enough for Arthur to hear.

"Never, my love." Balinor buried his face in Ms. Hunith's hair. "Never."

The two eventually broke away from each other, and it was then that Arthur noticed; Ms. Hunith was glowing. She was surrounded by the same Silvery-blue glow as her dark haired friend.

 _Ghosts_. Arthur realized as he put the pieces together. Ms. Hunith and her Bal were _ghosts._

The pair hugged again, this time more briefly, and Balinor glanced down at something that shone gold in his hand. It was a curious little thing- flat and round, like the lid that was on top of Arthur's Jar of slime at home, with a sticky-uppity thing in the middle. Ms. Hunith glanced down at it, too.

"Is it time?" she asked and Balinor nodded.

"It's time." He agreed.

Ms. Hunith grinned, the shadow that hung about her lifting and then vanishing completely.

"One last adventure then, I suppose."

"The best adventure." Balinor grinned back, a bit lopsidedly, and the dark haired woman reached for his hand.

"I shall miss this old town, I suppose." she murmured as the two began to glow brighter. "It's been good to me."

The pair of ghosts grew so bright that Arthur had to look away. When he glanced back, Ms. Hunith and her ghost had vanished.

*8*8*8*

The entire town said it was a shame that Ms. Hunith had died. Everyone except Arthur, that is. It wasn't that he didn't miss the elderly woman, of course he did, but he knew what he had seen. Ms. Hunith had been happier with her ghost than she had been any other time he had seen her.

Later that month, Arthur caught sight of periwinkle eyes and a hauntingly familiar mop of curly brown hair peeking out from behind his new neighbors' front door. _Merlin_ , his mind supplied the name suddenly, effortlessly.

Flashes of a stone castle, golden days, and cheerful laughter echoed in the wake of the thought and, for Arthur, everything suddenly _made sense._

 _His name is **Merlin.**_

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 **And that's a wrap!**

 **Questions** **? Concerns? Comments? Leave a review!**

 **\- Celia (WaywardWatson) out!**


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